Hidden CLI on Cisco/Linksys Small Business Switches

Apr 14, 2017, 9:32 AM -05:00

The Cisco-Linksys SRWxxxx series of switches have a simple web interface for management purposes. The interface lacks the ability to see the MAC address table. You can SSH or telnet to the switch, but the menu you get is no better. However there is a hidden CLI (called the lcli, I assume that stands for Linksys CLI) you can access that will allow you additional management capabilities. Once you are logged into an SSH or telnet session and are at the menu, do the following:

Type Ctrl+Z

Hit Enter once

Type in your username and hit Enter

It will not prompt for the password but it will give you a <hostname># prompt. From here, you can type ? see the available commands. To see the MAC-address table, type show bridge address-table.